This thesis examines the public and private lives of elite women in Ireland at the close of the
seventeenth century and during the first half of the eighteenth. It uses a wide range of primary
sources including manuscripts, contemporary publications and primary printed material and
is divided into six chapters.
First to be considered are the ways in which the marriages of such women came about
and how they dealt with the situation, if and when their marriage failed. The thesis then
moves on to look at their role as wives, mothers and household managers, before examining
the experiences of widows who were faced with the task of managing the estates of their
minor children. The fourth chapter focus on elite women's interest and involvement in
politics, including the limitations they faced due to their gender, before the thesis concludes
with studies of its subjects social and philanthropic activities.
Throughout, the focus is on the women of five of Ireland's most prominent political
or landowning .families, the Bro~cks, Boyles, Butlers, Conollys and O'Briens, all of whom
are represented by substantial surviving archives. However, the lives of women from other
families are also utilised if and when they have something of value to add to the argument
and in particular, the role of the wives of Ireland's lords lieutenant, the vicereines, are
examined. Lastly, there are comparisons drawn between the lives of elite women in Ireland
and their English counterparts, in order to ascertain any major similarities or differences.